The Wolflings
by soakedtothemarrow
Summary: In the future, everything is effortless. But when the unthinkable becomes reality, the secret horrors that lie in the belly of the starship are awakened, and the only ones who can save them now are those exist only in a dream... Or do they?


DISCLAIMER: I do not own Creatures, Norns, Grendels, Ettins, or any related subjects; those belong to Gameware. I also do not own any third-party breeds, agents, and metarooms; those belong to their respective owners. I do, however, own the concept for the characters and their personalities, so please do not steal!

* * *

Tara gazed out through the glass windows of the starship, allowing herself to become wrapped in the celestial ocean of galaxies and distant planets that scrolled by, never once repeating itself. The Shee Ark held the potential to zip through the universe at light speed should the need ever arise, but from this distance, they were merely drifting by on a spatial current, bobbing along as the Ark did, sometimes winking merrily at her. The everlasting night contrasted against the tiny stars and starlets, making them seem even more beautiful; billions of tiny beacons calling out in their crystal-clear voices through the darkness. And whenever one was extinguished, as they often were, two more, both equal in splendor and brightness, were born for the Norns of the future millions of years from now to witness.

It was often these kinds of thoughts that made the young Delft Norn hungry.

Without a second thought, Tara called out, "Tara intensely hungry for protein!" She was barely aware of the silence shattering as she did so. It was an unpleasant sensation, but it paled in comparison with her hunger.

Within seconds, a squat, rotund robot materialized beside the Norn youth, beeping and blipping noisily. Upon its stomach was a black screen with a red line cutting through it, zigzagging up and down in a monitor of some unknown factor. Almost instantaneously afterwards, a lemon appeared beside it, plump with mature ripeness. Another came after that, followed by a third and fourth.

"Thanks, Stewie!" she said gratefully, patting the robot's smooth metal side. "You really are a lifesaver; I probably would have starved long ago without you." The robot, Stewie, whirred in thanks before vanishing again, leaving no trace of its earlier presence. The Norn didn't so much as blink; she had become so used to the electronic butler's antics that she didn't start at his arrivals and departures like she used to, back when she was still an adolescent.

_But now I'm a youth…_ she thought to herself as she reached for a lemon. She gnawed at the skin absentmindedly, lost in her mind. _And I can't be expected to keep relying on Stewie for the rest of my life. I've got to start taking care of myself…_

Even as she thought it, Tara had to laugh. Taking care of oneself was so out-dated in the hi-tech world of today, when electronic butlers and the Hand took care of all the work on the Shee Ark. When she was still a child, the Hand had often spun tales of times when the Norns lived back on Albia; a place that she had never acknowledged to be true, but she still enjoyed hearing about it. Many of the Hand's stories were filled with hardship and strife, such as famine and drought. Again, Tara doubted that these were even possible, but the Hand made them sound so realistic that she got lost in the story before she even thought about questioning their authenticity.

"Many Norns died back then," the Hand had said. "Sometimes it was a disease that ravaged their insides and sapped their energy before they could get an antidote, while still others starved to death, searching futilely for even a paltry seed. Most of them, though, were murdered by…" At this point it would pause; Tara guessed it was to keep the Nornlings in suspense.

Sooner or later, a Nornling always said, "Who? Who were they murdered by?" Usually it was one who was new to life, still bubbling over with energy and excitement.

"All right, all right," the Hand would say, probably smiling if it had a mouth. "Stalkers of the night, they called them. Some say that they were so strong, their children could snap a Shee's neck with only a finger. And they hated Norns, except for the little ones." This part was either met with relief by newborns or anticipation from veterans. "Those were far more delicious than the adults, because they were chock full of sweetness. And they were called…" Another dramatic pause here. "…the Grendels." Collective gasps filled the room at this point; once a baby even burst out into tears of fright at the mere mention of the name.

"They had scaly green hides that were said to attract evil spirits to live in their dark souls. Their great mouths were filled to the brim with yellowed fangs that were sharper than a dozen Stinger tails digging into your flesh, teeth they often used to gobble up little Nornlings… such as yourselves." The Hand's voice got more menacing with each word. Tara had told herself over and over that Grendels didn't exist, but the Hand made them sound so realistic; she could almost hear their great, lumbering footsteps as they approached, intent on devouring her whole…

"But the worst thing about them was their eyes. Large, bulging things, ruby-red with the creatures they ate and the blood they drank. It's said you could tell how many Nornlings a Grendel ate by how red his eyes were. And if you looked straight into them, without blinking…"

All the Nornlings seemed to instinctively know what would happen if you peered into those hellish eyes, the eyes that could kill with one look, and yet they never once pursued the subject further to confirm their suspicions. Many of them were trembling at this part, clutching to their dolls and to each other as though it would protect them from being eaten.

The Hand would soon alleviate their fears. "But of course, the Grendels are just a legend," it would say comfortingly, often tickling the more frightened ones. "They never really existed; they're just a myth. You never have to worry about the Grendels…"

Tara sighed at the memory, though it was a bittersweet one; she still sometimes had nightmares about the long, sharp fangs, and those _eyes_…

"Hey, Tara!"

The Delft Norn was shaken out of her reverie by the voice of a Norn; not unlike her own, but in a slightly lower octave. Turning behind her, she smiled when she saw who it was that had called her name.

"Hi, Kaimu!" she exclaimed, walking over to him.

The sky blue Dream Norn who was her best friend grinned broadly. "Who else?"

"I'm so glad you're here! I've been looking for you for ages!" Tara said, stopping once she was beside him. "Where were you? I couldn't find your signal on Stewie…" Another interesting feature of electronic butlers was that it had a Norn-friendly interface where the owner could track where other Norns last called for their own butlers. This allowed them to meet with each other more efficiently, rather than wandering around the Norn Meso for hours on end, looking for someone who actually was on the other side of the area.

"Ah, my butler malfunctioned," Kaimu replied disdainfully, waving one of his paws. "I had to wait until the Hand could get it fixed before I could do any tracking at all. I really hate those kinds of bugs…" He mumbled something incomprehensible under his breath before noticing the lack of other Norns in the area. "Hey, how did you get the incubator pan area all to yourself? Usually this place is packed!"

"Um…" Now that she thought about it, Tara had no idea why there were so few Norns here. Because of the warmth the pan gave off, lots of Norns often clustered around it during lights-offs, trying to get heat flowing through their fur. Even when the lights were on, it was still quite crowded, so it was unusual for there to be only two Norns there instead of half a dozen.

"No clue, huh?" Kaimu asked, faking irritation. "Fine then, keep your techniques for clearing out a crowd to yourself. And if they're what I suspect, just keep them _inside_ yourself, if you know what I mean."

It took a second for the meaning to sink in.

"Kaimu Dreamnorn, I did _not_ fart to get everybody out of here!" Tara yelled hotly, her normally pale blue face starting to redden under the fur.

"When did I say that?" he said airily, a smug look upon his face. "You really need to stop jumping to conclusions." Before Tara could shoot him back with a sharp reply, he decided to change the subject.

"I notice that you've eaten some more lemons," Kaimu remarked, inclining his head towards the untouched fruit. "Ah, lemons. So sweet, and yet so sour…"

Tara, relieved to have the tension lifted away so easily, answered, "You can have some if you like; I guess I wasn't as starved for protein as I thought."

"Thanks." The Dream Norn reached down, plucked a lemon off the floor, and ripped off half of it with his teeth. Bits of lemon stuck out of his mouth as he struggled to make it fit inside, chewing vigorously to clear up more room. After a few moments, he finally managed to swallow, puckering up his face as he did so.

"I never really liked protein…" he mumbled through his bites. "But it's just so darn _satisfying_…"

"And also the fact that you'd die without it?" Tara suggested.

"Yeah, that too." The next bits went faster than the first, notably because they were about half the size of the former. In no time at all, he had finished, save for the bit of lemon juice staining his cheeks. "Come on, let's go down a level. I want to see if the HLD is open."

"Uh, you go on ahead. I think I'll pass for this one." Tara had, in truth, never liked the Holistic Learning Device very much. She had thought that it gave off the sensation of tickling her brain, which made her spine crawl to think of. Kaimu had often tried to convince her otherwise, but she remained firm in her decision.

"Aw, you're no fun…" Kaimu complained as he pushed the elevator button. "Oh well, I'll see you soon anyway, so I guess it's no big loss. Bye!"

"Bye," she said as he descended down to their kin. Sighing once more, Tara turned her attention back to the endless stars set out through the window.

Little did she know that she was not the only one who was so enamored with space…


End file.
